Happy Holidays from all of us at the Food Shuttle! As we reflect on the past year, we want to express our gratitude to you for helping make our work possible. For every volunteer shift, every gift, and every act of kindness from our community—thank you. Your support makes this time of year extra special.

We are excited to express our sincere thanks to the John Deere Foundation for their incredible support of Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. Their dedication to addressing food insecurity has long been evident, and their recent commitment to a 3-year funding structure is a testament to their ongoing impact.

A huge thank you to Smithfield Foods for their generous support! Their contribution will help fund our Agriculture Education workshops, empowering organizations across Eastern North Carolina to create their own Gardens for Everyone programs. These programs equip our neighbors in rural communities and food deserts with the skills to grow their own food and build sustainable solutions. Together, we're working toward a hunger-free future for our community.

This year, for Giving Tuesday, we at Inter-Faith Food Shuttle chose to call it Gratitude Tuesday. It was a day for us to pause and reflect on the immense support we receive from our community. We are truly blessed to work with so many amazing partners, staff members, agencies, donors, board members, and neighbors who help us feed those in need and make our work possible. Thanks to your support, we raised over $50,000 on Gratitude Tuesday, which will go directly toward feeding families in our community.

At Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, we believe in the spirit of thankfulness and giving back. This Thanksgiving, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has contributed to our mission. Whether you contributed financially, donated food, volunteered your time, or supported our mission in any way, your generosity has made a lasting impact on our neighbors. Thank you for joining us in the fight to end hunger—we couldn’t do it without you.

Tuesday, December 3, is Giving Tuesday – a worldwide initiative that encourages support for causes that matter through donations, volunteering, and acts of charity. This year, we are excited to ring in the holiday season with Gratitude Tuesday – a day of reflection and thankfulness as we celebrate Giving Tuesday at the Food Shuttle.

As 2024 draws to a close, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the incredible work we’ve accomplished together. With your support, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and our community partners have been able to make a real impact in our community. From providing millions of pounds of food to offering programs tailored to our communities’ needs, we’ve been able to help thousands of neighbors facing hunger — and none of this would be possible without you.

At Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, we believe that strong partnerships are essential in our mission to feed, teach, and grow our community. Today, we extend our deepest gratitude to the Principal Financial Group Foundation for their invaluable support.

In the quest to support our community and combat food insecurity, both fund drives and food drives play essential roles. These initiatives not only allow us to gather resources but also foster a spirit of collaboration among friends, family, and colleagues. Best of all, they can run simultaneously, maximizing the impact of your efforts! 

At the end of last month, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm and impacted several states, including North Carolina. The devastation left behind will require months of recovery efforts. At Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, we are committed to assisting our neighbors and partners that have been impacted by the storm.

Last weekend, we hosted the first ever Food Shuttle Fest at our farm – and it was a huge success! Thanks to support from our volunteers, staff, neighbors, partners and donors, we had the joy of gathering as a community to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and explore new ways to make an impact in our community.

We’re thrilled to announce the graduation of our latest class from the Culinary Apprenticeship Program (CAP), a collaboration between Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and Goodwill Industries of Eastern North Carolina. This innovative program is a cornerstone of our approach to fighting hunger by addressing its root causes. 

The month of September is recognized by Feeding America and its member food banks, like Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, as Hunger Action Month; an initiative to raise awareness about hunger and inspire action within our communities. While this month has been a time of reflection and awareness, the Food Shuttle believes that the fight against hunger doesn’t end with the culmination of Hunger Action Month. Every day, we strive to feed our neighbors, teach self-sufficiency, grow healthy food, and cultivate innovative solutions to end hunger. With your continued support, we can fight hunger all year long.

Volunteers provide crucial support to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s mission to feed, teach, grow and cultivate. Our work is not possible without them. As a volunteer, there are many different areas that you can get involved in depending on your interest and availability. Highlighted are just a few of our areas of need.

As summer fades and a new school year begins, there's a sense of renewal and promise. At Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, this season isn't just about transitioning back to classrooms—it's a chance to ignite hope and opportunity for countless children and families in our community. We’re excited to announce our annual Back-to-School Campaign, with an ambitious goal of raising $200,000. 

We are thrilled to have support from Duke Health through the Building Healthy Communities Grant. Their support has proven essential to building and maintaining community workshops tailored specifically to the needs of individual communities and programs like the Food Shuttle Academy, an online learning platform with courses about health, nutrition and agriculture. 

September 1 marks the first day of Hunger Action Month, Feeding America’s annual hunger awareness campaign to engage us all in the movement to end hunger. Every year, food banks across the country, other organizations focused on human services, and civic-minded groups and individuals come together, stepping up, lending a hand, and lifting voices to help ease hunger and raise awareness with the simple message that hunger is not acceptable in a nation as affluent as ours.

We’re excited to invite you to a heartwarming celebration! Join us for the Food Shuttle Fest on October 5th, where we’ll be celebrating 35 years of cultivating our community. 

In an inspiring example of community collaboration, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is proud to partner with ECHO for the “Teens Tackle Hunger” initiative. This partnership stems from a shared commitment to addressing food insecurity as summer began and school was out.

At Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, we're thrilled to share the latest milestone in our partnership with the City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources (Raleigh Parks). Building on the success of our collaboration at Barwell Road Park, we are excited to announce the next phase of the Raleigh Parks Community Gardens Program with the inaugural community garden build at Eastgate Park.

Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is excited to celebrate our 35th anniversary with the community we so deeply care about this year, with gratitude for the support and engagement that has only grown since our 1989 founding. 

Our senior neighbors facing food insecurity are receiving essential nutrition, thanks to the generous support from Searstone / Lutheran Services Carolinas. This funding arrives at a pivotal moment as our Grocery Bags for Seniors (GBS) program contends with unprecedented food inflation and a rapidly expanding population.

CAP is a transformative program that equips individuals who are unemployed or underemployed with valuable culinary skills and work experience. Over 12 weeks, students participate in 25-30 hours of hands-on training each week in a real commercial kitchen. We are excited to celebrate our most recent graduates!

At Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, our mission is clear: to feed, teach, and grow. We are dedicated to nourishing our community and fostering a future where hunger is no longer a barrier. Through a network of mobile markets and food pantries across central North Carolina, we provide essential food resources and support available to everyone.